


Caged

by orphan_account



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-11 08:44:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7041295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even the power of luck couldn't help Marinette when she got caught. And now, stuck in a cage hidden behind locked doors, her only hope to escape is the blond human who visited her every night.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yay~ My very first fic! There probably already is one or two floating around somewhere in the fandom, but I love mermaid AUs. So I wrote one for miraculous! Please enjoy and leave a comment!

" _Marinette! Please, slow down! You know, even if I'm kind of a god, I can't keep up with you!_ " Tikki flew through the water quickly, a stream of bubbles following behind her. A small squeak escaped her lips as she ran straight into a school of fish. " _Marinette Dupain-Cheng! Come back!_ "

Ahead, Marinette did a somersault in the water, oblivious to Tikki's words. Preparing for a big leap, she took a deep breath, then propelled herself forward and out of the water. The water on her tail shimmered in the warm sunlight as she laughed, diving back into the water. " _Tikki, look! The sunset, it's beautiful._ "

A disheveled Tikki appeared behind her. " _Yes, Marinette, I know. And though it's beautiful, it's not safe!_ " The kwami sighed in exasperation, fins covering her face. " _As much as I love the sunset, you staying safe is my number one priority! If you were to get caught or something, I don't know what I would do!_ "

" _Tikki, I know why your worried. But I'm not going to-_ "

" _Just like your parents said they wouldn't? Just like Alya said she wouldn't?_ " Marinette turned away. Tikki swam up to her and placed a fin on her cheek. " _I've known you for years Marinette, and I understand why you come up to the surface every week. You're looking for them, aren't you? All the mermaids that were caught?_ "

Tears welled up in Marinette's eyes, joining the ocean water around her. " _I- I don't know what to do... Oh, Tikki, I miss them so much._ "

" _I know, Marinette, but you getting caught won't help them! Although they didn't know me very well, I know your parents and Alya extremely well! And if they were here, they'd want you to be more careful!_ " Grabbing on to Marinette's hand, Tikki led her deeper into the ocean. " _And that wouldn't be the only problem if you were caught,_ " she murmured under her breath.

Mermaids getting caught? Tragic. Marinette getting caught? A disaster.

The kwami didn't ever want to find out what would happen if a miraculous holder were to disappear.

Letting out a small huff, Tikki wondered how much easier this would all be if Marinette understood just how precious she was. But the other kwamis agreed that telling the chosen before the right age is a bad idea, and she had to follow those rules.

At least Marinette was following her instructions now, allowing herself to be led away from the surface.

But with them being around the surface for as long as they were, even the power of luck couldn't allow her to avoid the inevitable.

The fish scattered as a shadow appeared above them the blaring sound of a ship's horn sounding in the water. Marinette, horrified, grabbed Tikki and swam downwards. Yet her reaction was too slow. In the several seconds that she stayed frozen with fear, the rope has already dropped down, and one flick of her tail was all that was needed for her to get tangled.

" _Marinette! Wait!_ " Tikki screamed. But Marinette wasn't listening, trashing around in the net, getting herself more and more tangled. A rope dug into her tail, causing the water in her to be clouded red with her blood.

The rope started to be pulled back up. 

Marinette stopped moving.

________________________________________  
Her head was pounding. Her ears were ringing. And worse of all, her tail felt completely dry, almost to the point where it was painful instead of uncomfortable. Marinette opened her eyes, squinting at the white light surrounding her, heat waves distorting her vision.

"A beautiful catch, sir. I bet we could get thousands of dollars just for this one mermaid." A blur of shadows moved in front of her, laughing. "I mean, look at her tail! It's like a ladybug pattern! Agreste is going to love it for sure."

A whack. A yelp of pain. "Maybe he would've liked it more if you were careful. That bloody wound... We could've been fu-"

"C'mon, wound or not, we're still going to get lots of money! Doesn't matter much, we're guaranteed to be rich!"

Even with the stinging pain she felt where the ropes binding her rubbed her skin raw, the water poured onto her was bliss. The salt water soothed her throat, dry from the unfamiliar sensation of breathing, as it dribbled into her mouth. Her red skin, slightly burnt from the scorching sun, cooled down slightly. And albeit the huge wound in it, her tail started to feel slightly better. She contracted her muscles, moving her tail to the side experimentally.

Big mistake.

"Ay, she's waking up. What should we do, boss?" The sound of knuckles cracking reached Marinette's ears. "Should I knock her out again?"

A sigh. "No need to, we'll be there in a few minutes. And another injury wouldn't look good to Agreste. I don't want to lose any more money." Then there was the sound of footsteps, slowly fading away.

Marinette opened her eyes again, blinking a few times in a fruitless attempt to clear her vision. She glanced around, making sure that nobody was around, before trying to wiggle out of the ropes. A red figure flew out from its hiding spot in her blue locks of hair.

" _Oh, Marinette, thank goodness you're safe. I was so worried for you!_ " The small kwami said, big blue eyes filled with concern. " _If you were to get really badly injured or something then, then..._ " The miraculous... the balance of the world would be ruined.

Marinette opened her mouth to speak, only to start coughing. Her oxygen deprived lungs made her gulp in more air greedily, only to start coughing again. Tikki hushed her, telling her to take deep breaths.

" _They're going to come back Marinette. I'm so sorry I can't help you. But I'll talk to you the next time your alone._ " Tikki sniffled. " _I promise to keep you safe._ "

When the footsteps started to come back, Tikki was tucked away safely in the mess of her hair, and Marinette's world started to turn to black again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel Agreste was surprised.
> 
> And that was a surprise itself, for anyone who knew the stoic man, but really. Gabriel Agreste was extremely surprised.
> 
> He thought that it would take years to gather the miraculous. But somehow, the second last one was there in front of him, caught by two drunk, hungry fishermen. A young mermaid, the ladybug miraculous holder, the girl with the power of luck.
> 
> _Lucky, but I'm luckier._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg I can't believe that I actually got 35 kudos! That's probably a really small number for a lot of you... but the thought that 35 people liked it enough to click kudos makes me really happy. Hopefully this chapter is good too!
> 
> Yeah... just a bit of backstory with Nooroo. And stuffs.

Nooroo loved his chosen.

It was really his chosen's smile that pulled the kwami in. When he was younger, he always had the brightest of smiles on his face. He would treat Nooroo as a friend instead of a tool, doing everything he could to make the kwami comfortable. Despite his lack of money, he made a comfortable bed for Nooroo and always tried his best to get the kwami's favorite foods.

So when moth wings started to grow out of his chosen's back instead of butterfly wings, Nooroo grew worried.

Yet the worrying stopped soon, when the love of his chosen's life came. The blonde girl was amazingly sweet, with warm green eyes that sparkled with joy. Her kind aura pulled everyone around her in, and even the cruelest of people couldn't bring themselves to hate her.

As Nooroo watched his chosen's smitten face, he began to have hope for the future. And the kwami felt more and more hopeful with every passing day, as he fell in love with the girl and the girl fell in love with his chosen. _How could somebody not love him_ , Nooroo often thought to himself. He may have been poor, but he still managed to be such an amazing person.

The mauve kwami let out a huge sigh of relief as the moth wings began to take a purple hue, edges smoothening out.

The following years went by smoothly. When Nooroo explained the role of miraculous holders to his chosen, his chosen only smiled and stood even taller. When his chosen was preparing to get married, Nooroo watched happily as beautiful, purple butterfly wings were tucked away. When his chosen opened his very own aquarium and got his own son, Nooroo wondered if some of Tikki's good luck rubbed off on him.

For once, he believed he picked correctly. It seemed like nothing could go wrong.

But something always would.

As the aquarium grew in popularity and his chosen got richer and richer, he started to close himself off from his loving family. He shut himself in his own room, working to get more money, more fame. Nooroo only began to worry when he noticed the grey wings on his chosen's back.

By then, it was too late. The girl with the sparkling eyes left. The son stopped smiling.

And Gabriel Agreste was wracked with grief.

Gabriel's wings have already fully grown, so Nooroo knew that he was stuck. He didn't have enough energy to find another chosen once the miraculous has grown with Gabriel, especially after the wings have grown this much.

Then, because of his anger that nothing would go right, Nooroo let a few facts slip from his mouth.

Years later, when Gabriel found out that the sacrifice of all the other chosens could possibly bring back his lost happiness, he began to capture them, not caring about Nooroo's desperate pleas to stop.

Years later, the aquarium grew more popular, and both Gabriel's and the boy's smiles have disappeared. The once warm house was filled with cold, empty silence.

Years later, and Nooroo saw a sinisterly happy expression pass over his chosen's face. Everything was ruined.

The kwami knew it was all his fault.

________________________________________

Gabriel Agreste was surprised.

And that was a surprise itself, for anyone who knew the stoic man, but really. Gabriel Agreste was extremely surprised.

He thought that it would take years to gather the miraculous. But somehow, the second last one was there in front of him, caught by two drunk, hungry fishermen. A young mermaid, the ladybug miraculous holder, the girl with the power of luck.

_Lucky, but I'm luckier._

"Ah, Mr. Agreste!" One of the fisherman thrust out a grubby hand, breaking him out of his trance. "Pretty nice catch, right? But hey." The man stepped in front of the mermaid, sunlight glinting off of his golden tooth. "Money first. How much are you gonna give us?"

Gabriel wordlessly handed 800,000 dollars to the fisherman, and then stepped forward to grab the young mermaid. He smirked to himself as he heard a gasp, then the sound of the two bickering over the money.

He couldn't believe his luck. Any of the smarter people he usually had to make deals with wouldn't even accept a million dollars for the mermaid. _Even millions was a small price to pay for something this priceless._

A flash of red darted out of sight as he picked up the girl, and Gabriel noted to himself that the ladybug kwami was still there.

"I'll be taking my leave now," he muttered as he walked back towards the truck. He gently laid down the girl in a filled tank, which he stored in the back of the truck, then went to sit down in the front.

"You look quite happy today, sir," Natalie said as she turned the key. "Was today's one particularly special? A rare breed, perhaps?"

Gabriel smiled coldly, slightly leaning back into his chair. "Yes, very special. They caught the very thing I've been looking for for the past seven years. And accepted quite a low price for it too."

Natalie nodded, focusing on the road. "I assume she's not going to be shown to the public, then. Would you like me to call some men from the aquarium to pick her up when we get there and move her inside? Or would you rather manage everything yourself?"

"Call them. Most of my more loyal workers know about the cage I've been preparing for this one. Tell them that I finally found the mermaid I have been looking for, and they'll know what to do right away."

"Yes, sir."

A chilling silence filled the truck, albeit the horns blaring noisily on the streets and the music playing softly around them. Gabriel leaned back a bit more, and Natalie straightened up, maneuvering around the traffic.

"How about Adrien, sir?"

"What about my son, exactly? I'm sure that all is well? I believe he has been doing shows with the dolphins to entertain the visitors with... the other young boy..."

"I believe the other boy's name is Nino, sir."

"Yes, yes. Him. For what reason do you bring up my son?"

"I heard that he wants to be more involved with the other parts of the aquarium, the ones that aren't yet shown to the public. I understand that you haven't spoken with him lately, so I was wondering if I could have the permission to give him the card to go in."

Gabriel furrowed his eyebrows. Honestly, he was scared of what his son would do if he gave him that card. After all, he took after his mother personality wise.

"No."

"B-but, sir, Adrie-"

"I said no, Natalie. End of conversation. Maybe one day, but he is way too young at the moment. Way too... irresponsible."

He heard a soft sigh. "I understand, sir. I'll tell him that when I hand him his next schedule."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN LIKE TWO MONTHS ;n;
> 
> HERE'S A LONGER CHAPTER FOR YOU GUUYYYSSSSSS! Hopefully it makes up for it...

"And that's it! Everybody give it up for our two dolphins, Bubbles and Flipper! Thanks for visiting Miraculous Aquarium, and we hope you enjoy your time here!" Adrien waved at the audience, gesturing for Bubbles and Flipper to wave their tails. As Bubbles and Flippers did a somersault and started waving their fins, he shouted, "Don't forget to check out the mermaid exhibition! Personally, I think they're the most "miraculous" in this whole aquarium!"

As the crowd walked away, Adrien dumped the rest of the fish in the water for the dolphins. He readjusted his hat. Bubbles nudged her head against his leg, and he leaned down to pat her on her head. She happily squeaked, turning away and splashing water in his face playfully. Adrien sputtered as she and Flipper swam away from him.

A hand was placed on his shoulder. "Hey, dude," Nino said, giving him a thumbs up. "Good job with the show! I have no clue how you get the dolphins to listen to you like that, bro."

"Ha, I wish. They splashed water at me so many times today..." Adrien used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe the drops of water on his face. "Thanks for managing the music as always, Nino."

"No problem, bro." Nino paused, watching the sun reflect over the small waves in the water. Adrien shifted uncomfortably in the heat as he kicked the water. "Anyways, did you get your dad to agree? Dude, it would be totally cool if he let you learn all the "secrets" of the aquarium. I mean, you love these animals a bunch, bro. It's kinda creepy. But still."

Adrien leaned backwards, supporting himself with his arms. "I haven't seen father around, lately. I think he's probably off getting more exotic fish for the aquarium or something." He let out a sigh as Nino patted his back. "It's just... I never know where he goes. I wish he'd at least tell me for once."

Ever since his mom disappeared, his father stopped speaking with him. At first, his father still put in effort to interact with his son, pushing the less important meetings aside so they could sit together for dinner and bringing him around the aquarium to learn about the new exhibitions.

Then he started to go out on more business trips, looking for all kinds of exotic animals for the aquarium. Once in a while, he would take Adrien with him. But Adrien was usually left behind in their mansion.

He found it funny that a place filled with so many people could feel so lonely.

Natalie was an... interesting addition to Adrien's life. After several years, he still wasn't so sure whether he liked her or not. She cared about him, that much was clear. It was obvious from the comforting pats on the back he got from her, or the extra desserts she secretly pushed towards him during dinner when his father wasn't watching.

Yet with her around, he saw his father even less. All the things his father told him were told through Natalie instead. Whenever he had a question, no matter how important, he was to ask Natalie. Or write a letter, and ask Natalie to pass it to his father. Even though his father was in a room only a few strides down the hall.

What was most frightening to Adrien, though, were the days when his father would walk around muttering the same word over and over again. His cold blue eyes seemed lifeless on those days, with his usual slicked back hair in a mess.

"Miraculous," he would say.

Honestly, it was pretty creepy. Adrien doubted it had anything to do with the aquarium, though.

"ADRIEN!" Adrien's eyes flew open in shock when Nino yelled straight into his ear. He blinked several times, remembering just where he was, before turning to look at Nino. Nino pressed his fingers to his head and sighed. "You didn't hear a thing that I said, did you..."

The blond bit his lip. "Sorry... I zoned out..."

"Dude... You've been zoning out way too much lately..." Nino shook his head, masking his concern for his friend with a determined smile. "It's okay though. I get that you're worried about your dad and stuff. But don't stress too much about it, 'kay?"

"Yeah... Thanks Nino."

Nino stood up, resting a hand on Adrien's back reassuringly. "No prob. I gotta go now, though." He took a few steps away. "Just remember. If you need to talk about anything, all of the people who work with us are willing to help you out."

Moving his feet around in the water, Adrien closed his eyes, listening to Nino's footsteps and waiting until Nino walked out of hearing range. "So Plagg, what do you think?"

The weird, floating, devil-looking, black cat thingy poked his head out of Adrien's shirt, blinking his sleepy eyes. He yawned. "Honestly? I think you should just hurry up with cleaning and get out of here. It reeks of fish."

An amused smile passed over Adrien's face. He brushed the groaning kwami off of his shirt with a breathless laugh, then reached over to pick up the pails, hoops, and other objects he used for the show. When Plagg sneered at him, he rolled his eyes and placed the kwami back into his pocket. "You know what _I_ think? _I_ think that you aren't the one who should be bothered by the smell. Your "sweet, sweet camembert" smells _much_ worse than this."

The kwami yawned, "Speaking of camembert... I want camembert..."

And as annoying as it was for his chosen to pick him up and throw him out of his comfy spot in the pocket, the cat kwami was happy that he could cheer the young boy up.

________________________________________

"Another smooth day of work, all thanks to you. Good job, Adrien," Adrien murmured, patting himself on the back. The day was the same as always. Work in the aquarium, have somebody drive him back to the mansion, and walk into his empty h- Or not.

He stiffened immediately at the cold atmosphere of the room. Slowly, he turned to look at Gabriel. "Good evening, father. Nobody told me that you were back. H... how was your trip?"

"Good evening, Adrien." Gabriel slid his stack of papers off the marble table, straightening then. With one last look at Adrien, he turned away. Just as always. "Natalie."

"Yes, sir." The secretary picked a few papers out of the pile in front of her, and walked over to Adrien. As always, she was the one to "deal" with him instead of his own father. "Your schedule for the next few weeks has been slightly changed. I also regret to inform you that your father... didn't agree with your idea."

Disappointment passed over the blond's face as he processed Natalie's words. _Didn't agree._ He shouldn't have been so hopeful about it. _Of course_ , the man wouldn't have agreed. He never did. Adrien reached over to grab his schedule with a sad smile. "It's alright, Natalie. Thank you for asking him."

Part of Natalie desperately wanted to hug the miserable boy, to comfort him and help him out in any way possible. She wanted to hand him the card, the key he wanted as proof that his father actually cared, even though her boss specifically said not to. But she had a job to stick to. And it really didn't mean anything unless it came from Gabriel Agreste himself.

Checking to make sure nobody was around she leaned towards Adrien. "I'm really sorry, Adrien, but I can't do anything about it. I'll try to convince him on one of his... better days." The days that never came anymore. "It'll be okay. I'm sure."

And just like that, he relaxed, reminded that there are people who care about him. As Natalie walked away, her heels clicking on the floor, he allowed his breath to escape from his lips, breathing normally once again.

He had Nino, Natalie, and a bunch of others who are there for him. Even _Chloe_ was on his side. A surge of determination ran through him at the realisation.

Adrien didn't need his father's approval.

Not even to get into his father's "secret little room".

________________________________________

Honestly it wasn't that hard.

Aided by his cat-like balance, Adrien jumped out of his room's window and landed safely on the ground. The leaves below him only gave a quiet crunch at his soft landing, a sound that wasn't even loud enough for the guards to notice.

Taking a deep breath, he ran a hand through his golden locks of hair, brushing them out of his eyes. Blinking to get used to his night vision, he felt his cat ears twitch. The guards were coming his way, but it only took rolling behind a bush to avoid them.

He watched carefully as the light from their flashlights faded, then ran towards the fence beside the entrance to the mansion. That one had a hole cut out of the bottom of the bars, which was hidden by the decorative bushes. Adrien pushed the branches of the bush away and crawled through the hole, only to trip while running.

Talk about bad luck.

One of the guards at the entrance turned towards the sound. The hulking man, which Adrien mentally named "Gorilla", trudged over with booming steps, moving his flashlight to where Adrien sat, frozen.

With a meek smile, Adrien raised up a hand and waved. "Sorry about that. I just wanted... to walk around a bit?"

Rolling his eyes, "Gorilla" grunted, "Don't stay out too late, kid."

Honestly, even though he was noticed, Adrien was pretty lucky. His fall moved his hair so that it covered his ears perfectly, making them completely unnoticeable. The guard that noticed him has been around since Adrien was a kid, and was used to him sneaking around to get fresh air at night. So he suspected nothing. Probably.

No longer worried about being noticed, Adrien jogged towards the aquarium with long strides. At his pace, it would only take around fifteen minutes for him to reach the aquarium, and his father's workers should be bringing the new fish in around twenty.

Night vision is a nice advantage, he noticed, when running around at midnight.

Before long, he reached the entrance of the aquarium. He noticed a truck with "Miraculous!" written on the side with a smirk, and followed it in. The roar of the truck made it unnecessary to keep his steps soft, so he sprinted after it without a worry. As he ran, he made sure to stay in the shadow that the truck casted. Hopefully, with the dark clothes he was wearing, he would be impossible to see from the security cameras.

When the truck stopped, he rolled under it, breath shallow.

Adrien winced when the truck door was slammed above him. As the jingling of keys reached his ears, he rolled over into a better position.

"So Agreste finally found that mermaid he was looking for, huh?" The back of the truck was opened. "She's a pretty one, isn't she?"

The other worker chuckled, and Adrien could feel the truck move above him as the worker climbed in to grab the tank. "Look at that tail. I haven't seen anything quite like it before." He heaved the tank onto a trolley that the other worker brought over. "Let's bring her in."

Adrien's eyes were glued to the door of the "storage room". A beep sounded when one of the workers tapped his key card to it. After the two workers pushed the trolley in, Adrien swiftly jumped out from beneath the truck and went into the room. He pressed himself against the wall, hiding behind a potted plant.

By the time the workers were done and left through the door, his body was already stiff. The tingling sensation on his legs felt as if ants were crawling all over him. But he ignored it.

He was in.

A cold chill ran down his spine as he walked through the hallways, the sound of his steps echoing throughout what seemed to be a lab. He carefully ran his fingers over the walls, feeling the cold, concrete walls. Taking the route the two workers took earlier, he reached a huge circular room.

In the middle of the tank, illuminated by the moonlight streaming in from the windows, there was a mermaid. Her tail was a gleaming red, spotted with round black dots. The mermaid's blue hair floated around her, the bows that once held it laying at the bottom of the tank.

A stream of bubbles left her lips when her eyes snapped open.

And somehow, he just knew.

"Marinette."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your kudos and your comments keep me going~
> 
> Kudoses. Kudi. Kudo? Idk


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